Landowner vows to confront miner

A Canterbury landowner is vowing to fight on despite losing an Environment Court bid to ban mining on a picturesque piece of regenerating native bush.

Shirley Boys High teacher Helen Langen owns 48ha near Hororata, where she said her efforts to regenerate native bush had won acclaim from Environment Canterbury.

But international mining firm Omya has held exclusive rights since the late 1960s to extract 9000 tonnes a year of bentonite - used as a binder in brown paper - from the Harper Hills Ridge in Coalgate.

This land was at the time in two pieces, the Broughton Royalty and the Wright Royalty. It has since been sold and subdivided but the mining rights remain.

Ms Langen knew of these rights when she bought her property but believed that as her land had remained untouched for more than 30 years, Omya would have to apply for a new consent before it began digging.

But this month the Environment Court gave Omya the go-ahead after hearing that it had been mining regularly on the Wright Royalty and considered the entire area to be a single source of bentonite.

Ms Langen said she was "very disappointed".

"It's a particularly beautiful area. They got their mining rights when people weren't particularly interested in the environment."

The court did concede that about 20ha of Ms Langen's land had "outstanding landscape features" and should not be mined.

But this was not enough, she said.

She was determined to save a further strip of about 8ha beneath the protected area. Mining this could cause the outstanding landscape area to slump, said Ms Langen.

"I feel that as a landowner I have the responsibility to say I don't want this happening. I feel very strongly about it and I'll stand in front of the bulldozers if that is what it takes."

Omya was digging alongside her fenceline and she feared its diggers would soon move in.

"I'm really determined to save that little bit of native bush that's regenerating and I believe with people power we can stop them."

She hoped to live on the property eventually and open part of it to tourists as a scenic spot for picnics and walks. "The views from the top are incredible."

Omya's Coalgate manager, Phillip Lundy, said that under its mining licence, the land could not be built on.

There was no danger of the ridge slumping, he said.

"We've been in constant dialogue [with Ms Langen] for 2 1/2 years and this is why we went to the Environment Court to seek confirmation as to our rights."

Mr Lundy said if there was no appeal by early next month, Omya could begin mining immediately.

"We would have been on there two years ago if we hadn't been engaged by Ms Langen."

He said Omya had hired a consultant to assess the land it would mine.

"It is pastoral land and gorse. He concluded this area has no ecological significance."

The firm did not have to give Ms Langen notice of when it planned to start mining, nor to pay her royalties. These had been kept by the Broughton family when they sold the land.

Forest and Bird field officer Eugenie Sage said the dispute highlighted the "privileged position" of the mining industry.

"It's ridiculous that the landowner can't say no."

- NZPA